Sunshine. Hallelujah!
We spent the day enjoying the great food, visiting the cultural sites, shopping and people watching in Hoi An’s Old Town. Such a beautiful place. Pictures do not do it justice.
The ochre coloured buildings were warmed by the sun. We relaxed with cups of delicious egg coffee.
Many locals had set tables as if for a meal in front of their shops and were burning fake money and papers for the gods. Some of the tables had full cooked chickens or parts of pigs on them.
Many women (mostly Asian) wore the beautiful Vietnamese traditional long dress with high slits up the sides and satiny pants underneath. Their delicate forms looked so elegant in them. I tried one on… was not an attractive look for me..(maybe 20 years ago it would have been).
Karaoke music was playing in a few places…many of the singers sounded like howling cats.
We attended a traditional music and dance performance; much more enjoyable than the Karaoke. Unfortunately I had four inconsiderate people ahead of me who kept their phones up above their heads for most of the show.
We continued to walk the streets of the old town. Some chickens were also enjoying the festivities; some looked to be shopping, some were begging and others just crossing the road.
We stopped to try some of Hoi An’s fresh beer and white rice wine. The beer was good but the rice wine tasted like turpentine.
Excellent live music played at the Dublin Gate Bar. We ate nearby at Curry Hoi An on the second floor terrace. We watched the lanterns light up as the sky darkened. More and more boats glided in the lagoon and hundreds of candle lit lanterns were released into the river.
I purchased my paper lanterns from an old lady on the street. Her face glowed in the firelight. Most of the people selling these floating lanterns were elderly women.
We hired a lady in a boat with a fuschia lantern to row us around the river for 30 minutes. She tried rowing back after only 16 minutes and I pointed to the time on my cell phone…she got the hint but still returned 7 minutes early.
We hung around the old town listening to music and watching life go by. I didn’t want the night to end.